Money Makes the World Go Around
New York Stock Exchange Building, Statue of George Washington at the steps of the Museum; epicharmus via
flickr /Artwork: designslinger]
New York has been the capital of world finance for a couple of generations now, but
perhaps that will change after the global economic meltdown subsides. The name Wall Street has come to define an entire economic system, and the intersection of Wall, Nassau and Broad Streets in Manhattan has been at the center of America's finances since the Revolution. A bronze statue of George Washington stands proudly on a pedestal in front of the 1842 Federal Hall National Memorial, because it was on this site in 1789 that Washington was sworn in as the first U.S. president. The current building was built as the country's first Custom House and later served as a United States Sub-Treasury location. Across the street stands the house that financier J.P. Morgan built, a person with more power and wealth than Warren Buffett. The 1914 J.P. Morgan & Company building, designed by Trowbridge and Livingston, was a testament to the Morgan Company and it's influence over America's financial well-being. From Morgan's front steps you can gaze up at the white marble facade of the New York Stock Exchange Building - a powerhouse driving the engines of global financial institutions, the 1903 building is recognizable around the world.
Cabot Square, Canary Wharf, London; Diliff via wikipedia /Artwork: designslinger]
Running neck and neck with New York for supremacy in the money trade is London, which
spent much of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries as the leader of the world's economy. The financial might was concentrated in an area defined by 5 intersecting streets known as Bank Junction. Here the most powerful monetary institutions of the time, sat on prominent corners. Today, the Bank of England, founded in 1694, still occupies a huge swath of land in a monolithic building that conveys stability, might and power. Sitting directly across the way is the 1842 Royal Exchange, commemorating London's history as a commercial trading hub since the first slips of paper were exchanged as "stock" in the 16th century. While the Junction may be the historic heart of financial London, Cabot Square and Canary Wharf may be it's future. The development is home to a who's who of financial institutions: Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.
Hovering in the distance is the sleeping giant - China - and Shanghai. Although Hong Kong
has been a financial capital for centuries, Shanghai is looking to become the new financial center of the new China. In just 15 years, the Pudong area of the city has been transformed from an empty landscape into a skyline packed with high rise architecture. Before Hong Kong, Shanghai was the financial center of the Far East, and with the current building craze the city hopes to be a global economic, financial, trading and shipping center in the emerging new world order.
The old columns, marble and stone which signified strength and stability in another era,
are giving way to sleek towers of steel and glass. The Morgan building sat vacant for years and has been converted into condos. The Sub-Treasury building is a museum. The Royal Exchange is a shopping mall. Perhaps Canary Wharf will hold its own in this crazy upside down world, but look at the names of some of the primary tenants. Will the dominant financial intersection of the future be located in the new Shanghai?
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